New Delhi [India], Feb 13: Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday said that over three crore LPG connections have been given since the inception of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana.
"This is the 22nd month of Ujjwala Yojana. The government initially gave us the target of 5 crore out of which we have given 3.40 crore connections till now. In the latest budget, the government has asked to increase it from 5 crore to 8 crore," Pradhan said at the ANI-organised India Infracon 2018 conclave, here.
The scheme particularly benefited women in rural households who suffered from health problems due to the use of unclean cooking fuel.
"Five lakh women used to die in our country due to unclean cooking fuel every year," Pradhan informed.
The Union Minister further listed down three steps taken by Centre that helped save funds and redistribute it among poor by the launch of Ujjwala Yojana, "When oil prices were low, we saved the surplus, we cut some ghost consumers through direct benefit transfer (DBT), and then we appealed to the financially well-off people to not take subsidy on gas."
A total of nine crore LPG connections have been given to the needy since 2014 under the Narendra Modi-led government, Pradhan informed.